Google Inc., the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers have settled a class-action lawsuit over Google's book-scanning project.
The company and the book groups said Tuesday that Google will pay $125 million to resolve claims by authors and publishers and to pay legal fees.
Several universities have agreed to let Google scan their libraries and make the texts fully searchable online. But the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers sued in 2005, arguing that the plan violated copyright protections.
Now Google's payment will go toward the creation of a Book Rights Registry. That will allow holders of U.S. copyrights on books to register their work so they can get a cut of Internet ad revenue and online book sales.
